REPUTATION FOR TOLERANCE
Thailand ranks highly on indexes of LGBTQ legal and living conditions, and Thursday’s milestone makes it the first Southeast Asian country to allow equal marriage.
The kingdom’s same-sex marriage bill was passed in a historic parliamentary vote last June, the third place in Asia to do so after Taiwan and Nepal.
The law was ratified by King Maha Vajiralongkorn in September and came into effect after 120 days.
It marks the culmination of years of campaigning and thwarted attempts to pass equal marriage laws.
Thailand has long had an international reputation for tolerance of the LGBTQ community, and opinion polls reported in local media have shown overwhelming public support for equal marriage.
However, much of the Buddhist-majority kingdom retains traditional and conservative values and LGBTQ people say they still face barriers and discrimination in everyday life.
Former Thai prime minister Srettha Thavisin, who was in office when the law was passed, tweeted his congratulations.
“Equal marriage has truly become possible with the power of all,” he wrote.
“From now on, there will no longer be a ‘man’ and a ‘woman’, but ‘individual’ and ‘individual’ who are equal ‘spouses’. I congratulate you wholeheartedly on your love.”
More than 30 countries have legalised marriage for all since the Netherlands became the first to allow same-sex unions in 2001.
Thai activists have been pushing for same-sex marriage rights for more than a decade, with their advocacy stalled by political turbulence in a country regularly upended by coups and mass street protests.
Kevin Pehthai Thanomkhet, a 31-year-old trans man, married his wife, Maple Nathnicha Klintgaworn, 39. His 65-year-old father Phornchai was with them.
“So happy, like, oh my god … my heart is beating,” Kevin said.
“He is happy for this … I have always accepted (him),” Phornchai says. “Whatsoever, it is OK with me.”
Ploynaplus Chirasukorn said she had been with her partner Kwanporn Kongpetch for 17 years. “In the past, LGBTQ was seen as a monster,” she said.
She supports the push for gender identity recognition beyond biological sex.
“A person who was born different sex from what they want to be feels like a person who has no home,” she says. “If we can push for it, we will feel like it is really equal.”
“If you are not ready (to marry), then you have your whole life as Thailand is now OK for your love,” said Arm.
